Description
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept of Human Resources Development (HRD)
Human Resource Development (HRD) is a strategic approach to investing in human capital. It draws on other human resource processes, including resourcing and performance assessment to identify actual and potential talents. Human resource development provides the framework for self-development, training programme for and career profession to meet an organization’s future skill requirement.
Investment in employee skill to support the need of advanced technology is a prime example of this approach. Financially obsessed managers in free market countries have preferred cost cutting to investment in people or new technology. Moreover, there has been a chronic failure to unstand the link between the two: Investment in new equipment has been used as worthwhile only if it leads to a cut in employees costs. Managers in Australia and the UK, for example, have been wedded to a penny-pinching Menta city according the kind of high technology that requires exposure, skilled workers, their counterparts in Singapore and Korea have vested more readily in new machines, tools in order to increase output and profitability. Subsequently taking on extra staff to meet demand.
According to Sambrook (2001) Human resource Development has its in the early organization development intervention of the 1940s, but the term was first used by Nadler (cited in Nadler and Nadler, 1989, p4) described Human resource development as ‘organized learning experience provided by employers, within a specific period of time to bring about the possibility of performance improvement and personal growth. It is appropriate, therefore to regard training as an integral aspect of Human resource development.
Gibb (2002) argues that: Past definition of education, training and development with their essentially sequentially division of learning, one no longer useful or acceptable. They would be deemed to draw the boundaries around the subject in theory and practice too narrowly and also inaccurately; they would not capture and deal with the practice and theory of contemporary work and organization.
Sambrook (2001) Argues that human resource development can be thought of as a construct, like ‘Love’ or ‘quantity?. It is intangible in itself since it cannot be found, touched or seen by it may be investigated through features associated with the concept that might distinguish it from training and development. She argues that training and development was focused on operational issues and took short-term or reactive approach in which specialist ‘did training’ delivered it to passive trainee and usually conducted it in classroom. Sambrook describes this as ‘tell’ approach as opposed to ‘sell’ or ‘competent’. Human resource development competencies, human resource development focuses on competencies and takes a wider approach encompassing self.
According to Sambrook, self development, employee development, management and organizational development probably delivered by facilitators, there is two way
Communications and some consultation together with far more diverse training method. There is an attempt to link human resource development function and the organization one strategically and totally interlinked and there is an emphasis on learning individuals are encouraged to take responsibility, to ensure and to be participative and collaborative.
Gibb (2002) prefers the term ‘Learning and development considering that it addresses a combination of cognitive capabilities, and behaviours that have to be established or change in the process. He employs ‘cognitive capabilities’ as a more comprehensive concept then ‘knowledge’.
Similarly, Gibb wraps the order concept skills and competence within the term capabilities: arguing that ‘skills’ has too many connotations of physical performance and also the ‘competence is meresingly questioned as a valid and useful concept. The third dimension, behavior is favoured over ability since it draws performances or actual performance.
Therefore learning and development strategy represent the approach an organization adopts to ensure that now and in future, learning and development activities support the achievement of its goals by development the skills and capabilities of individuals and teams. It can be described similarly as strategic human resources development, define as follows.
Walton (1999) strategic human resource development involves introducing, eliminating, modifying, directing, processes in such a way that all individuals and teams are equipped with skills, knowledge and competences they require to undertake current and future tasks required by the organization. The term ‘Learning and development’ has largely replaced that of ‘human resource development’ HRD.
Armstrong (2011) Learning and development is the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviours and attitudes through learning or development experiences. It is concerned with ensuring that the organization has the knowledgeable, skilled, engage and committed workforce it need. Learning is the means by which a person acquires and develops new knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviours, and attitude. As explained by Homey and Mumford (1996)” ‘learning has happened when people can demonstrate that they know something that they did not know before (insights realization as well as facts) and when they can do something they could not do before (skills)’.
Learning is a continuous process that not only enhances existing capabilities, but also leads to the development of the skills. Knowledge and attitudes the prepare people for enlarger or higher – level responsibility in fortunes. Armstrong (2011).
Therefore human resource development (HRD) Armstrong (2011) is concerned with ensuring that a persons (employee) ability and potentials are grown and realized through the provision of learning experience or through self-directed (self managed) learning. It is unfolding process that enable people to progress from a present state of understanding and capability to a future state which higher-level skills, knowledge and competencies are required.
Significance of Human Resource Development
Human resource development strategy represent an approach an organization adopt to ensure now and future performance of employee and organization has a benefit and significance which increases the productivity and performance of the organization.
Armstrong (2011) listed the significance of human resource development which increases the performance (profit) and better utilization of human resource include:
Improve individual, team and corporate performance in terms of output, quality, speed and overall productivity.
Attract high quality employees by offering them learning and develop opportunities, increasing their levels of competence and enhancing their skills, thus enabling them to obtain more job satisfaction, to gain higher rewards and to progress within the organization.
Improve organizational and additional flexibility by extending the range of skills processed by employees (multi-skilling).
Increase the commitment of employees by encouraging them to be identify with the mission and objectives of the organization.
Help to manage change by increasing understanding of the reasons for change and providing people with the knowledge and skills they need to adjust to new situations.
Help to develop a positive culture in the organization, for example that is oriented towards performance improvement.
Help to reduce accident in workplace.
2.3 Aims of Human Resource Planning
The aim of human resource planning in a organization will depend largely on its contexts, but in general term the typical aim might be to:
Attraction and retention of the number of employee regained with appropriate skills, expertise and competence.
Anticipate the problems of potentials, surpluses of deficit employees.
Develop a well trained flexible workforce, thus contributing to the organizations ability to adapt to uncertain and changing environment.
Reduce dependency on external recruitment when key skills are in short supply by formulating retention as well as employee development strategies.
To improve the utilization of people, introducing more flexible system of work.
The Relationship Between Human Resources Development And Business Planning (Development)
Human resource development takes the form of learning activities that prepare the individual employees to exercise order or increase responsibilities Armstrong (2011).
Armstrong also went further to described human resource development as a process of acquiring knowledge, skills, capabilities behaviours and attitudes through learning and development at expenses.
Walton (1999) sees human resource development as a strategic which involves the process of introducing, eliminating, modifying, directing processing such a way that all individual and teams are equipped with skills knowledge and competencies they require to undertake current and future tasks required by the organization.
Business development is concerned with learning and development which should demonstrate how learning, training and development programmes will meet business needs.
According to Keans and Millet (1997) go as far as to claim that: ‘If a business objective cannot be cited as a basis for designing, training and development, then no training and development should be offered’.
According to Armstrong (1996) he explain the relationship between the two, human resource development and business development. He says conceptually human resource development should be an integral part of business development, that is bases of human resource development is for the development of the business.
Armstrong (2011) view this as: Human resource development as a strategy for business development where is sees business development as the development of new knowledge or insights that have the potential to influence behavior. It has be defined by Marsick (1994) as a process of: “coordinated systems change, with mechanisms but in for individuals and groups to access, build and use organizational, in every structure and culture to develop long-term organization business capacity.
Harnson (1997) explained that business organizational learning is not simply the sum of the learning of individuals and groups (see for example Argyris and Schon, 1996) have confirmed that without effective processes and system linking individual and the organizational learning, the one has no necessary counterpart with the other.
Therefore the bases of human resource development is the need for business development, that is the license of human resource development activities and programmes is to integrate business requirement and employee’s need to achieve the missions, goals and objectives of the business which will result to business development. Armstrong (2011).
Methods and Techniques of Human Resource Development
There are several methods of human resource development which can be use for developing human resource which can be classified into two, this include:
Off – the –job development
On – the job development
Off – The – Job Development
This is the development type or method that is conducted outside the working environment usually conducted in the classrooms. This development includes:
Information Presentation Techniques
These include:
Lectures/conferences: These method of development involves formal presentation of lectures that improve the task performance, it is more suitable to provide development of large group of employees with opportunity of interactivity between the trainer and trainees. One of the liability of this method of development is the possibility of lack of feedback to the lecturers and lack active involvement, however, this can be source what be corrected by encouraging trainees participation and greeting discussion groups who are saddle with problems retirement to the lecture or conference with view to getting a feedback from the trainees .
Tele-training or Development: This is a development method which is conducted through the use of set light television network, the training and development is remote in nature as the trainer in a remote location, teachers group of employee at a remote locations, through television hook ups. These development method is used by Honder American Company to develop different employee.
Video Conferencing: This is a method of development in organization or firms uses to develop and train employees who are geographically separated from each other. These combines both audio and visual equipment in development employees. Video live via a combination of audio and visual equipment with other employees in another city or country or with groups in several countries where delivering development programmes inform of cameral.
Internet Development: Here organization encourage their employees to take online courses provided by the online tutors, in fact some organization particularly the large once create internal internet, where development and training materials are lodged for employees to assess this materials which are charged time to time to suit the needs of organization.
Simulation Method of Development
This involves development method which is conducted in a artificial environment that closely reflects the actual or real working environment.
Example include;
Vestable Development: Here the employee learn and develop job relation on the equipment similar to those in the work force but the training and development is done off the job. Although this development method is expensive but it allows employees to easily transfer training and development to the job without real world pressure.
Computer Simulation Development: These method uses computer programmes to deliver development and training to employees. The system present a representation of a situation and the task to be performed in the situation, the employees are expected to perform the task present to them by the system and their performance is continually monitor by the system. This method provide feedback on employees performance.
Video Conferencing
This is an advance form of computer simulation which places the employees in simulated environment that is visually the same as the real environment. It involves the use of special gadget which allows for interactivity with the system. These method is mostly used in aviation industry and similar industry.
Case Study
In these method of development, employees are presented with an in-depth description of a problem(s) they are likely to encountered in the cost of performing their jobs. They are then expected to disorganized and analysed the problem(s) generate and evaluate alternative causes of action and select the suitable one.
On-The-Job Development Method
These are said to be the most commonly used method of developing employees, perhaps because they are believed to be simple and less expensive, example of this method includes:
On-The-Job Development
This is a development method where employees learn and develop on a job while working on it. In order words it means having a person learn a job by actually doing it. Put simply it is referred to learning by doing the method in most suitable where simulation is different also where it easier to learn and develop by watching and doing.
Apprenticeship Development
These method of development combines on the job and classroom lectures. It is widely used in development employees for many occupation. It involves the tutorlage of a master craft person.
Job Instruction Development
The method of development is use for jobs that are performed following a logical sequence of steps these types of job are best taught stage by stage. The step is refers to as job struction. It involves outlining the necessary steps and the corresponding key point. The steps choose what to be done while the key point shows how it is to be done and why.
Role Playing
This is a kind of development method meant for executive development. The employees assume the roles of the position they are expected to occupy after the development, and their performance are simultaneously evaluated and corrected where necessary by the development instructions.